Arrivederci, Modernismo

📖 The Scoop

Poetry. Carter Ratcliff's long out-of-print 1974 poem, ARREVEDERCI, MODERNISMO, is a defining poem of its time, both in its recognition of a crucial moment in aesthetics and in its unflinching technical approach to its subject. This adventurous contemporary poem is written in a series of prose-like sentences that gather poetic force both in their verbal dexterity and also in the sense of longing that is mysteriously evoked. The present edition presents the poem with an eye to its visual, as well as its semantic significance. The poem itself is bookended by two short essays an afterword by the author on the writing of the poem and an introduction by poet and critic Vincent Katz on Ratcliff's poetic lineage, as disciple of John Ashbery, who took Ashbery's style and aesthetic into new areas. This publication is a special act of homage to an important poem that deserves to be much better known."

Genre: Poetry / General (fancy, right?)